110 Berth – the historic new home of Steamship Shieldhall

Located in the Western Docks and adjacent to the Container Port, Berth 110 offers an uninterrupted view of the one-and-a-half mile long Western Docks. It was created in the 1920s and 1930s from land reclaimed from the sea to allow Southampton to continue to welcome the largest liners of the day.

Whilst Shieldhall is usually only accessible at Berth 110 to those who have purchased excursion tickets or have a function on board, this coming Saturday she can be visited free of charge (on a pre-booked basis) as part of the Heritage Open Days Weekend.

Visitors can admire the exterior of the historic and listed Pumping Station, built to serve the King George V Graving Dock.

English Heritage states: "The No. 7 Pumping Station was built in the 1930s, contemporary with the King George V Graving Dock it served. The dock was designed for the repair and maintenance of the largest ocean liners operating at this time, and is of special historic interest for representing the peak of the transatlantic passenger liner trade in Britain. The inter-war classical style is impressive and temple-like."

Pumping Station for the King George V dry dock.

Opened on July 26, 1933, the Graving Dock was the largest dry dock facility in the world for nearly 30 years.

Wonderful footage of the opening ceremony with King George V and Queen Mary, present on the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert, can be seen below.

It's recorded that Queen Mary tipped a cup of 'Empire wine' into the dock to officially christen her! The King’s speech that day was given wide coverage:

"The Queen and I have accepted with much pleasure the invitation to be present at today’s ceremony.

"The association of my family with the great docks in Southampton Water is a long one, and I personally have a vivid recollection of that day in August, 1895, when I accompanied my father at the opening of the Prince of Wales Dock, the largest in existence at that time.

King George in Southampton to oepn the KGV Graving Dock.

"It affords me, therefore, special satisfaction to inaugurate today this splendid addition to the dock system of the port.

"From the early days of our overseas trade Southampton has held a foremost place in the commercial life of this country. This position it has retained as the result of wise and continuous development, and its record as a port of embarkation during the years of the Great War will never be forgotten."

"It is as true today as ever that the welfare of this country is largely bound up with the prosperity of its seaborne traffic. Realising the vital need for efficiency in our ports, as in all other requirements of our Merchant Navy, I look upon the opening of this, the largest graving dock in the world, as a good augury for the future of Southampton."

The following year the dock welcomed its first vessel – White Star Line’s Majestic – which was the largest ship in the world at the time.

Majestic entering the King George V dry dock.

Then in 1936 RMS Queen Mary entered the dry dock, to make good final preparations ahead of her maiden voyage to New York.

As well as welcoming the world’s largest liners, the King George V Graving Dock played an important role during the Second World War.

The Dock provided a training facility for commandos prior to the famous St Nazaire Raid in 1942, described in military circles as ‘The Greatest Raid of All’. Five Victoria Crosses were awarded. The Dock was very similar in design and construction to that at St Nazaire, with commandos practising the actions needed ahead of the attack.

The Western Docks showing the King George V Dry Dock in the foreground.

The King George V Dry Dock was flooded in 2005, and today provides – together with an original docks crane – an atmospheric backdrop to Steamship Shieldhall, herself a member of the National Historic Fleet.

Shieldhall completes her 2021 sailing programme on Sunday September 12, with a sailing between 2.30pm and 6pm. This cruise will see Shieldhall pass the assembled yachts at Mayflower Park for the Southampton Boat Show, the cruise ships and tankers in the Port of Southampton, and then continue down Southampton Water to the Solent before returning to 110 Berth.

Aerial view of the King George V Dry Dock, Pumping Station and Container Port.

Shieldhall will be open to visitors as part of Heritage Open Days on Saturday September 11. Visits – at timed intervals – need to be pre-booked at: ss-shieldhall.co.uk/booking/heritage-open-day .

Nigel Philpott, SEE Southampton and a volunteer on Steamship Shieldhall.